Get Your Caffeine Fix in Popsicle Form—3 Ways

I am a religious tea drinker. Growing up with an English mum and spending some time living across the pond, drinking tea has become my main form of hydration. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy coffee in the morning—but afternoons are dedicated solely to tea time, and where my tea drinking habit really shines. Around 3 o’clock I start looking for the nearest kettle to brew a cuppa.

Summer in Toronto can be blistering hot and muggy—not particularly ideal conditions for drinking bottomless cups of hot tea. As opposed to a British "summer," where the warmest days always end in cardigans, rain boots, and obviously, pots of warm tea. So to get my caffeine hit and stay cool, I’ve made three popsicles, filled with milky, sweet tea (or coffee, because I love it so).

A London Fog is a sweet and milky Earl Grey tea, basically a tea latte. Even when frozen, it keeps its lovely bergamot fragrance. All you’ll need to go along with this popsicle is a tea biscuit!

I first encountered Vietnamese coffee in Vietnam, where it is served in a glass that has a thick layer of sweetened condensed milk in the bottom, which the coffee, just released from its filter, slowly drips into. The result is a strong brew cut with sugary density—which, in turn, makes the perfect caffeinated frozen popsicle.

Chai tea is a black tea plus spices that range from cardamom to cinnamon (see how Madhur Jaffrey likes to make it here). Turned into a latte and sweetened with brown sugar, these popsicles would even make for delicious weeknight dessert—because why stop at afternoon snack?

Each of these three act as a triple threat—a cooling snack, a caffeine hit, and a sweet treat—all in one hand-held, portable popsicle. Each batch makes about 8 popsicles, depending on the size of your mold. You can either make that many or half the amount, and pour the rest of the coffee or tea mixture in an iced latte. You can also make the brews in advance and keep the mixtures in the fridge for when you’re ready to make more popsicles. There's no need to limit these to tea time.